Each week, members of the Lifestyles staff share something we like. Maybe you'll like it, too.

Sylvia Anderson, food/home & garden reporter: Not all restaurants use this, but I really like to make reservations using opentable.com for restaurants in Kansas City. It's all online and it will immediately tell you if what you want is available and if not, what is available. So if a table for four at 6 p.m. is not available, you will see immediately that there is one at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. After you make your reservations, you get a confirmation, which makes for a great reminder for your dinner out.

Tamara Clymer, Lifestyles reporter: I am in love with Picasa both the free photo editor and the web album Web site. Google has developed what I think is one of the easiest systems for making minor changes to photos (cropping, lightening and rotating to name a few). I've tried quite a few free download photo editing systems and quickly fell in love with Picasa. It makes uploading images to my blog or sharing photos with friends and family a breeze. And it stores those photos online, which acts as a nice backup to your hard drive. To try it out for yourself just check out picasaweb.google.com

Shea Conner, entertainment reporter: I just got the new EP from Blitzen Trapper titled "Black River Killer." The band was already known for its indie folk sound, but this EP features more of a bluegrass tone. And lead singer Eric Earley channels his inner-Tom Petty with deeper, throatier vocals. My favorite song on the EP, "Big Black Bird," appeals to southern rock fans who love Creedence Clearwater Revival. There are only seven short songs on the EP, but none of them are duds. Check it out.

Jess DeHaven, Lifestyles editor: If you travel, you really should invest in a GPS system. On a recent trip, my family used the Garmin Nuvi, and it was great for getting us from place to place. It takes a lot of the hassle and stress out of driving somewhere unfamiliar. If you don't think you'd use one enough to justify the cost, consider sharing with family or friends - that's what we do.

Blake Hannon, entertainment reporter: So, in a previous recommendation, I talked about Nutella hazelnut spread and how awesome it is. But now, I've found something that's a little bit cheaper, healthier and just as good. Peanut Butter and Co. makes flavored, all natural peanut butters like Dark Chocolate Dream and White Chocolate Wonderful. The first one has the richness of dark chocolate while the second one basically tastes like you are eating peanut butter fudge right out of a jar. But, thanks to what must be come strange type of voodoo, it's only one-third of the sugar as Nutella. Consider your sweet tooth satisfied. Look for it at Wal-mart.

Erin Wisdom, health/religion reporter: Zoos are a lot of fun for families with young kids - but they're also a lot of fun for me, even though I don't have kids. Something I'm looking forward to this fall is making a trip to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. I went a couple of years ago and, even being there for almost an entire day, wasn't able to see quite everything. But it was definitely worth the drive, and it's a trip I recommend making. I also recommend planning to spend some extra time in the zoo's aquarium; the shark tunnel was my favorite part.

Nichi Yeager, Josephine editor: This morning when I was watering my plants, I decided that they would be my recommendation for this week. But I couldn't think of the reasons outside of my thinking they were pretty and smelled good. Well, and the whole carbon monoxide and producing oxygen, but then I couldn't quite remember that high school science lecture well enough to repeat it here. So I went out a found a whole list of reasons to have live plants: live plants are less expensive to use than air filter systems, can be easily moved or relocated and are environmentally friendly. Live plants offer aesthetic stimulants to people, increase creativity, productivity, lower stress and reduce eye strain by reflecting the yellow/green spectrum of light. They are also cheaper to maintain than silk plants.